Amusement ride rotating about vertical and horizontal axes

ABSTRACT

A rotating amusement ride having a vertical hollow column carrying a plurality of arms pivoted at one end to the top portion of the column with passenger cars secured to the ends of the arms. Power means rotates the column and swings the passenger cars about a vertical axis and maintains the cars a short distance away from the column. An inner shaft which rotates with the column is provided with a disc on which a plurality of pivoted posts are mounted with a linkage and struts connecting the pivoted posts with each of the arms and a brake mounted on the inner shaft to momentarily retard the rotation of the shaft and the disc to actuate the linkages and cause the upward swinging movement of the arms and cars as they rotate about the column.

United States Patent m... D. m P- fla w h c BS 40 67 99 H 03 64 30 38 59 J 33 ['72] Inventor Norman Bartlett I North MiamiBeachJ-la.

FOREIGN PATENTS 569,219 5/1945 GreatBritain....

[2i] AppLNo. 827,364

Filed 702,60] 1/1954 GreatBritain......,....:::..

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mm mm ma [54] ABSTRACT: A rotating amusement ride having a vertical hol- 3 Chins, 6 Drawing figs. low column carrying a plurality of arms pivoted at one end to US. Cl...

the top portion of the column with passenger cars secured to 272/36 the ends of the arms. Power means rotates the column and 86 3 swings the passenger cars about a vertical axis and maintains the cars a short distance away from the column. An inner shaft which rotates with the column is provided with a disc on which a plurality of pivoted posts are mounted with a linkage and S T. N m .w A P. S mE T mm m8 2 m n N U struts connecting the pivoted posts with each of the arms and a 272/36 brake mounted on the inner shaft to momentarily retard the 272/36 rotation of the shaft and the disc to actuate the linkages and 272/36 cause the upward swinging movement of the arms and cars as 272/36 X they rotate about the column.

E o I 1 A PATENTEU AUG! 0 l9?! SHEET 1 BF 2 Wm NORMAN BARTLETT M%Mm ATTORNEY PATENTEU AUG 1 0 l9?! SHEET 2 OF 2 NORI I AN BARTLETT M/kmm ATTORNEY AMUSEMENT RIDE ROTATING ABOUT VERTICAL AND HORXZONTAL AXES This invention relates to amusement rides anclv is more particularly directed to an amusement ride having passenger-carrying cars mounted on the ends of arms that swing about a center shaft in an undulating path.

At the present time amusement rides of the character described herein require an unduly amount of power as well as massive equipment to produce an amusement ride with passenger-carrying cars that swing about in a horizontal path about a central axis while simultaneously swinging in a vertical path so that the cars follow an undulating path. The reason for this is that these rides have been designed in such a manner that after the cars are rotating in a horizontal path in order to effect a rising and falling of the cars (in a vertical path), an additional driving means is required. The present invention avoids the need for more than one power drive by utilizing the kinetic energy of the rotating mass to overcome both centrifugal and gravity forces in order to compel the passenger-carrying cars to swing about both their horizontal and vertical axes.

Therefore a principal object of the present invention is to provide an amusement ride with a single power drive and a braking system that utilizes the kinetic energy of the rotating mass to compel the horizontally swinging cars to zoom or swing about their horizontal axes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an amusement ride in which passenger-carrying cars are made to oscillate in a vertical plane while being swung about their vertical axes with only one primary power source and a pump which is utilized as a brake.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an amusement ride of the character described hereinabove which is simple in construction, inexpensive in cost of operation and most effective to swing the cars about a central axis in an undulating path in a manner found pleasant and safe to the riders thereof.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing of the drawings but may be changed or modified so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. ln the drawings;

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rotating amusement ride constructed in accordance with my invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 with parts being omitted for purposes of clarity with the dotted lines showing the normal and extreme vertical swinging positions of the passenger-carrying arms.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view showing the position of the linkage of the motion transmitting mechanism when the passenger-carrying arms are at rest.

FIG. 4 is a similar view showing the position taken by the linkage when the passenger'carrying arms have swung to their highest vertical position.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary clevational view of the drive system for operating my amusement ride. 7

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the control station.

Referring to the drawings wherein like numerals are used to designate similar parts throughout the several views, the numeral 10 refers to a rotating amusement ride constructed in accordance with my invention and consisting of a hollow cylindrical shaft or column 11 whose lower end 50 is mounted for support and rotational movement on a pair of fixed races 48, 49 having ball bearings 51 thcrebetween. A spur gear 2] is mounted on the outer surface of the column H. The upper end portion of the rotatable column H is closed off by a wall 55 at whose center portion is an opening 56 for receiving a bearing 31 through which extends an inner rotatable shaft 23 I that extends the full length of the rotatable shaft or column 11 and terminates above the wall 55. concentrically mounted adjacent the upper end of the rotatable shaft 23 and above the end wall 55 is a disc 32 upon the periphery of which is mounted a plurality of posts 33. Each of the posts 33 that are the same in number as the passenger car carrying arms.37 are rotatably secured to the disc 32 and are pivotally secured to a yoke 63 ofa link 34. I v

The lower end of the rotatable shaft 23 rests on a bearing 24 that is supported by a support member 40, the latter being mounted on the fixed races 48, 49. A pump 25 is secure'd to the lower surface of the support member 40 and is provided with a shaft 57 that extends through an opening in the support member 40 and is secured to the lower end of the rotatable shaft 23 to rotate therewith. The fixed races 48, 49 that operate as a support for the rotatable column 11 and shaft 23 rests on a platform 54 along whose outer edges there is a circular guard'wall 22 that extends upwardly a short distance.

At the top edge of the rotatable column 11 is a plurality of spaced pairs of cars 38 having bores for receiving a pin 39. Mounted on the pins 39 for pivotal movement are one end of passenger car support arms 37 at whose other end a passenger-carrying car 41 is secured thereon.

Each of the support arms 37 is provided with a pair of spaced lugs 58 mounted at the end of the arms 37 and a second pair of lugs 59 mounted intermediate the ends of the arms 37. Struts 35 and 36 are secured at one end to the lugs 58 and 59 respectively, while the other ends of the struts 35 and 36 are secured together and to spaced support' plates 60; Also, pivotally secured to the support plates 60 by a pivot pin 6| is a link connecting member 62 whose 'othcr end is pivoted as at 53 to a yolk mounted at one end ofa link 34; the other yolk 63 ofthe link 34 being connected to the post 33.

At the end of each of the arms 37 there is attached a passenger-carrying car 41 with a bumper wheel 45 secured to the inner side of the cars 41 so that when the amusement ride 10 is not in use, the wheels 45 rest against the guard wall 22 and when the ride 10 has been in operation and being brought to a stop, the arms 37 will swing to their lowered positions until the bumper wheels 45 engage the guard wall 22 and roll therealong until the rotary motion of the amusement ride 10 has ceased.

. Means for operating the amusement ride l0 consists of an engineor motor 12 having a drive shaft 64 on which pulleys 65 are mounted. A second set of pulleys 66 are driven by and connected to pulleys 65 by belts 13. 'l he pulleys 66 are mounted on the end of a shaft 67 that is rotatably mounted on one of a plurality of upright support members 68 that extend upwardly of a base support 69. Shafts 70 and 71 likewise are rotatably mounted on the other upright support members 68,

.shaft 67 joining shaft 70 by a flexible coupling 14, while shafts 70 and 71 are connected by a fluid coupling 15 and overdrive coupling l6. At the end of the shaft 7| is a bevel gear l7 in mesh engagement with a bevel gear l8 secured to a shaft 72 that is rotatably mounted on a support member I). The other end of the shaft 72 is provided with a spur gear 20 that is in mesh engagement with the gear 2i.

The hydraulic pump 25 is connected by pipelines 26 and 27 to a hydraulic valve 29 and a liquid reservoir 28 respectively. while the valve 29 and reservoir 28 are connected by a pipeline 73. The hydraulic valve 29 is actuated by a control link 42 which extends to a control station 47 where the end of the link 42 is secured to a bellcrank lever 46. A second bellcrank lever 44 is pivotally mounted on the control station 47 and is connected to a control link 43 that extends to and operates the engine 12.

in the normal operation of my amusement ride 10 with the support arms 37 at rest and the passenger cars 4| in their lowermost position as shown by FIG. 2, after the passenger cars 4! have been occupied by passengers and the engine 12 energized, the operator swings the bellcrank 46 to the dotted line position as shown by FIG. 6. The column ll will commence rotating as does the shaft 23 and the pump 25 and as the speed of rotation increases, the arms 37 will rise vertically tion shown by dotted lines indicated by A in FIG. 2. which lines are approximately 37 as measured from a vertical axis passing through the pivot pins 39. At this time the cars 41 are being swung at a predetermined constant speed at a short distance above the ground having pivoted about the pivot pins 39 upwardly by virtue of centrifugal force. With the arms 37 at the dotted line position A the link support plates 60 will rise and the links 34 will swing horizontally as well as vertically. Although the rotational speeds of the column 11 and shaft 23 are equal, the upward, vertical swinging movement of .the arms 37 cause a momentary slowing down of the rotational speed of the shaft 23 to causethe pivot posts 33 to assume a position slightly further to the left than that shown by FIG. 3 in a clockwise direction. As stated hereinabove the column 11 and shaft 23 rotate at the same speed. Likewise, the pump 25 will rotate at the same speed since-its valve 29 is in the open position permitting the free flow of fluid to be pumped through the'system 29. 26, 27, 28 and 73.

Now in order to compel the arms 37 and passenger cars 41 to oscillate about their horizontal axes as they swing about the vertical axis, the operator pulls on the bellcrank handle 44 and pivots it to its dotted line position. holding it there momentarily and then returning the bellcrank handle 44 back to its originalposition. During the time the bellcrank handle 44 is in its dotted line position. the hydraulic valve 29 is actuated to stop the flow of fluid to the reservoir 28 and thereby build up a head pressure causing the pump 25 to slow down its speed and act as a brake to the rotational movement of the shaft 23. As the shaft spced,23 slows down, the position of the pivot posts 33 lags with relation to the support arm 37 that they are connected to taking the position as shown by FIG. 4. This effects a pull on the links 34 and struts 35 and 36 whereby the kinetic energy of the rotating members 37, 41 cause a zooming or swinging movement of the support arms 37 until the support arms 37 and passenger cars 41 have swung through a vertical are of approximately 63' (position B as shown by FIG. 2) or l above a horizontal plane passing through the pivot pins 39. As the passenger cars 4! swing upwardly and arrive at the apex of the are. the operator returns the handle of the bellcrank 44 to the solid line position to reopen the hydraulic valve 29 and reduce the head pressure in the pump 25 so that its braking action is terminated and the pump 25 now permits the shaft to rotate freely with the column II and equal in speed to the speed of the column ll. The weight of the loaded passenger cars 4! causes the support arms 37 to swing downwardly about their horizontal axes. while the amusement ride to and the column II are still rotating about the vertical axis. As the arms 37 swing downwardly. the centrifugal forces created by the rotating column ll cushion the passenger cars 4i to a stop in a descending direction when they having swung back to approximately the 37 angle at which position the cars 4| are under the influence of only centrifugal forces.

Again the operator will pivot the handle of the bellcrank 44 to the dotted line position to cause the passenger cars 4i swing upwardly again toward position 8 and then release the handle to allow return of the cars 41 back to the normal or position A. This vertical motion of the support arms 37 and passenger cars 41 during the horizontal rotational movement of the support arms 37 and cars 41 causes the cars 41 to swing in an undulating are of approximately 63" in a vertical path and effecting as many as HS such arcs in a single rotation of the column 11 depending upon the upward and downward rhythmic or pendulum swing, which the braking action and the release of the braking action effect respectively.

When the operator wishes to terminate the operation of the ride 10 so as to discharge the passengers in the cars 41, the handle of the bellcrank lever 44 is released to its solid line position to stop any vertical swinging movement of the arms 37 and the handle of the bellcrank lever 46 is pivoted to its solid line position to dcenergize the motor l2. The column ll Will commence to slow down and the support arms 37 and the cars 41 will settle downwardly until the bumper wheel 45 engages the guard wall 22 after which the column ll finally comes to rest. Then the passengers in the cars 41 are permitted to leave the cars 41 when other persons are permitted to occupy the cars 41 that now execute the cycle of-operation previously described.

What i claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A rotating amusement ride comprising a vertically disposed hollow shaft, means supporting said shaft for rotation about a vertical axis, power operated means rotating said hollow shaft, an inner rotatable shaft mounted substantially concentrically with relation to said hollow shaft. braking means secured to said inner shaft. a plurality of arms each pivotally mounted at one end to an upper portion of said hollow shaft for vertical swinging movement of said arms about horizontal axes, a disc secured to a top portion of said inner shalt. strut means mounted individually on each of said arms in proximity of their said one ends. a plurality of links. each link pivotally connecting one of said strut means and said disc. whereby upon energizing said power-operated means said hollow shaft will rotate thereby rotating said inner shaft simultaneously with said connections of said links to said disc assuming a rearward position with respect to rotation in relation to said respective connections of said links to said strut means on said arms, operating means for said braking means, causing when actuated said inner shaft with said disc to retard its speed substantially momentarily to cause said links to swing said arms upwardly in a vertical are as said disc is momentarily retarded with relation to said hollow shaft, and a passenger car mounted on the free end of each of said arms.

2. The structure as recited by claim I wherein each of said strut means individually mounted on one of said arms comprises a pair of elongated members. one of said members being secured at one end to said one end of said arm. the other of said members being secured at one end to said arm intermediate its end portions, the otherends of both of said members extending in a direction toward each other. means securing said last named ends of both of said members. each of said links being pivotally secured to a respective one of said securing means at one end and pivotally secured to said disc at the other end.

3. The structure as recited by claim 2 taken in combination with a guard wall mounted in spaced relation to the lower portion of said hollow shaft. and a bumper wheel mounted on each of said passenger cars adapted to engage said guard wall when said amusement ride is in its nonoperating position. 

1. A rotating amusement ride comprising a vertically disposed hollow shaft, means supporting said shaft for rotation about a vertical axis, power operated means rotating said hollow shaft, an inner rotatable shaft mounted substantially concentrically with relation to said hollow shaft, braking means secured to said inner shaft, a plurality of arms each pivotally mounted at one end to an upper portion of said hollow shaft for vertical swinging movement of said arms about horizontal axes, a disc secured to a top portion of said inner shaft, strut means mounted individually on each of said arms in proximity of their said one ends, a plurality of links, each link pivotally connecting one of said strut means and said disc, whereby upon energizing said power-operated means said hollow shaft will rotate thereby rotating said inner shaft simultaneously with said connections of said links to said disc assuming a rearward position with respect to rotation in relation to said respective connections of said links to said strut means on said arms, operating means for said braking means, causing when actuated said inner shaft with said disc to retard its speed substantially momentarily to cause said links to swing said arms upwardly in a vertical arc as said disc is momentarily retarded with relation to said hollow shaft, and a passenger car mounted on the free end of each of said arms. Pg, 14
 2. The structure as recited by claim 1 wherein each of said strut means individually mounted on one of said arms comprises a pair of elongated members, one of said members being secured at one end to said one end of said arm, the other of said members being secured at one end to said arm intermediate its end portions, the other ends of both of said members extending in a direction toward each other, means securing said last named ends of both of said members, each of said links being pivotally secured to a respective one of said securing means at one end and pivotally secured to said disc at the other end.
 3. The structure as recited by claim 2 taken in combination with a guard wall mounted in spaced relation to the lower portion of said hollow shaft, and a bumper wheel mounted on each of said passenger cars adapted to engage said guard wall when said amusement ride is in its nonoperating position. 